Link: http://www.savemylicense.ca

Much of what you've heard isn't true. But this is: If an officer asks if you know why you were pulled over, the answer is a very polite 'no.'

Drivers of red cars get more tickets. If you don't sign a ticket, the case will be dropped.
If the officer gets your hair color wrong on the ticket, you'll win.
Such stories relating to traffic tickets abound, but drivers and defendants will find that few of them are true.
The best advice is to simply to obey the law, know that rules and procedures vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and not count on urban myths when you hope to escape a ticket -- or its consequences.

Myth No. 1
If the officer makes a single mistake on your ticket, the case will be dropped.

“My name is misspelled on the ticket”, says the defendant to the judge. “Why thank you” says the judge, “How do you spell your name then?” and the judge then corrects the error on the ticket. “Anything else?” the judge asks.

The poor man is left speechless with the “wind taken right out of his sail”. What he thought as his only hope of a defense has been taken away.

Clerical mistakes, such as a wrong number or wrong order of a person's name, are usually overlooked. In other words, if it has been written down wrong – then it can usually be fixed in court.

Very few things, if written down wrong by the officer, will make the ticket invalid.

Some things, like the incorrect fine or wrong section number of the offence MAY make the ticket “void”. BUT only if handled in the correct manner. As shown above, appearing in court with the hopes that pointing out the error to the judge will get your case dropped, is the wrong way to do it.

If a ticket has mistakes written on it such as the wrong make of car or time of the offence, then these issues are a matter to be raised at trial. The officer will testify as to what he believed happened, including issues such as the colour of your car (if he mentions it).

A ticket should be seen as an accusatory instrument and a basis for prosecution that must be factually valid, says Matisyahu Wolfberg, an attorney and former police officer from Spring Valley, N.Y., who represents defendants in traffic cases.

Material mistakes, like the identity of the driver, the direction of travel, the street where the citation occurred or the description of the vehicle, can usually help a driver win the case.

Once the officer has given his side of the story then the defendant can tell the judge their side and maybe bring with them their vehicle ownership papers to show that their vehicle is different from the one the officer wrote down, says Gary Parker a paralegal in Ontario at www.savemylicense.ca.

"Any mistakes that involve who, where and how usually can be used to beat the case in a trial. If the description of the vehicle is inaccurate, the officer will usually lose," says Wolfberg.

He recalls one recent case in which the officer cited a white Mercedes when the defendant was actually driving a black Porsche.

Myth No. 2
If the officer doesn't show up in court, you automatically win.

Though this may happen in many cases, there's nothing automatic about it. Most prosecutors will drop a case if the officer does not appear in court because there is no evidence to provide to the judge about what happened in your case.

However, in some jurisdictions, a case is scheduled at a time to help ensure the officer is present, or a judge will reschedule the case altogether. Parker says that in most cases an officer not showing up will result in a dismissal, but there is no guarantee.

"It all depends on the jurisdiction, the court, the judge, the law," says Wolfberg. "Most judges feel the pain of people taking time off work and out of their lives to come to court and will dismiss if the officer doesn't show."

Myth No. 3
Red cars get more tickets.

There are no official studies to confirm that red cars do get more tickets, but some suggest the bold color tends to attract more attention from everyone, including police officers. There is also a theory that red cars can create an optical illusion that makes them appear to be going faster than they really are.

One myth says that insurance companies charge higher premiums for red cars. Allstate and Progressive say that a car's color has no bearing on the premiums they charge.

Myth No. 4
If you get a ticket in another province or state, your home province won't find out about it.

Canadian provinces have a reciprocal agreement for either demerit points of license suspensions.

The interstate Driver License Compact is an agreement between participating states that share information regarding certain types of traffic convictions. Reports on traffic violations and suspensions are forwarded to the home state of the nonresident.
There are only a handful of states that are not members of the compact.

There is also the National Driver Register, a database of information about drivers who have had their licenses revoked or suspended due to serious traffic violations. States provide the register with information about these serious offenses, and those in the database can be denied licenses in other states.

Myth No. 5
You can make up an excuse to get out of the ticket.

Most police officers aren't interested in excuses. When an officer pulls you over, he already suspects you of an infraction. You'll have your day in court and many ways to fight the ticket.
Remember: Any explanation you give about why you were speeding is an admission that you were speeding. If an officer logs those explanations in his notes, the statements could later be used against you in court. That's why, whenever an officer asks if you know why you've been pulled over, always answer "no" and just take the ticket.
"Never admit to speeding in the process of talking," says Aaron Quinn, the communications director for the National Motorists Association. "I would say just to be polite with the officer. Reasoning with the officer is something that might help you out if you actually are on your way to the hospital. You can try talking; just don't admit guilt."

Myth No. 6
A radar detector will ensure that you never get pulled over.

"Radar detectors give drivers a false sense of security that they can speed as much as they want without facing the consequences of breaking the law," says Ken Underwood, the president of the National Safety Commission, an organization that promotes safe driving.
But speeding drivers are also more likely to commit other infractions, and a radar detector can't tell you when a cop is watching you run that red light or make an illegal turn.

Radar-detector users often find themselves chasing new technology as law enforcement upgrades its speed-detection devices.

These devices are illegal in Ontario. You cannot have one in your car even if it is unplugged or stored in your glove box!

Myth No. 7
If the officer didn’t sign the ticket, it will be dismissed.

There are two main parts to a “ticket”. Your yellow copy (called an Offence Notice) and the officer’s white portion (called the Certificate of Offence).

The officer does not have to sign your yellow copy. So don’t get all excited if he didn’t. But it is a clue that maybe he didn’t sign the white portion. “It is mandatory that the officer sign The Certificate of Offence”, says Gary Parker.

If you get to court and the white portion – the Certificate – is not signed, then the ticket is invalid.